Color Vision Deficits and Rorschach Performance in Aged Persons

Abstract

Forty-two community residing older adults ( M age = 69.28) (32 color normal, 10 color deficient) were administered the Rorschach and measures of both verbal and nonverbal intelligence in order to explore the effect of color vision deficiencies on affective responsivity. Among the sample of older persons screened for both visual and auditory acuity, when controls for intelligence and numbers of responses were made, greater affective constriction was found in the protocols of color vision deficient persons, relative to color normal individuals. These data suggest that Rorschach indicators of affective constriction may be biased in the case of individuals who have experienced color vision decrements. Consequently, first screening for color vision decrements when assessing older persons' personality dynamics may be desirable.